Dorm Moves Across Campus

July 22, 1994|By ALICIA DOLLARD; Courant Staff Writer

POMFRET — The Pyne dormitory at Pomfret School recently became a mobile home.

The 600-ton brick building built in 1906 is being moved 750 feet across campus to make room for an academic center to be built this fall. The school wanted to put the 20,000-square-foot academic center on that spot to keep it close to the other academic buildings.

The old dormitory was hoisted up 8 feet by 10 100-ton jacks and rotated 90 degrees before it could be moved. The entire structure is being supported by six I-beams, each weighing 18,000 pounds, and is being pulled by two cranes on eight sets of wheels similar in size to the landing gear of a jumbo jet.

Toby Richardson, the development officer for the private school, said that the building is being moved about 100 feet each day and that he expects the move to be completed within 10 days. The move is being done by the DeNickolas Brothers Building Co. of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., a fifth-generation family company that has been moving buildings for 125 years.

``We are very excited about the move,'' said Bradford Hastings, headmaster at Pomfret School. ``The company responsible for moving the building has done a terrific job and it has been fun to watch Pyne dormitory move to its new location.''

After the move, the dormitory will be renovated to house 16 students and two faculty members.

The $1.1 million cost of the move and renovation is being paid through private gifts and donations to the school, Richardson said.

Tearing down the building was not seriously considered, Hastings said. Most of the school, including the dormitory, was designed by architect Ernest Flagg, who was also responsible for designing the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Hastings said it would be less expensive to move the building than build a new facility that would be similar in style to the existing dorms.

``This move has been a high priority for us,'' Hastings said. ``The school is showing its strength both by upgrading our academics with the new academic and arts building and by improving the residential life.''

The renovations are the beginning of plans to improve the quality of life and academics at the school during the next few years. ``Our dormitories are adequate, but they are not perfect. We are in good shape, but we want to be in excellent shape.''